Medical student died after taking legal party drug, inquest hears

An American footballer has told how he woke to find his girlfriend, medical
student Hester Stewart, dead in bed beside him after she had taken
unclassified liquid party drug GBL for the first time, an inquest has heard.

2:48PM BST 23 Jul 2009

Miss Stewart, 21, a cheerleader, returned to the home of on-off boyfriend Anthony Morrison in Brighton after an American football awards ceremony.

Medical student Hester Stewart

Mr Morrison said they chatted for a period after consuming Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), which is banned in several countries, before falling asleep in the early hours of April 6.

When he woke later that morning, Mr Morrison said that he found Miss Stewart, a promising University of Sussex student, dead beside him.

He told an inquest at Brighton County Court: "I woke up and tried to give her a hug. I jumped up and looked at her and she didn't look right.

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Mr Morrison said he tried to dial 999 but his mobile phone was not charged and there was no landline in the house.

He told the inquest he bought GBL over the internet and that it was the first time Miss Stewart had taken the drug, which has an industrial use as paint stripper.

Questioned by Miss Stewart's father, Dr Alan Stewart, Mr Morrison said it was made clear on the internet that GBL was not for human consumption but that they had discussed taking it beforehand.

He added that Miss Stewart placed a mango in her mouth before ingesting the GBL because of its foul taste and appeared to show no immediate signs to concern him.

"We were both talking coherently, and she was dancing around," said Mr Morrison. He added that Miss Stewart was aware of the possible effects of GBL.

Consultant histopathologist Dr Andrew Rainey, of the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, said the cause of death was GBL toxicity and the presence of ethanol. He said the fact that the drug and alcohol had been combined, caused her death.

Following the tragedy, Miss Stewart's family has led a campaign to press the Government to ban GBL in the UK.

Last month her mother Maryon Stewart, a nutritionist, met Home Secretary Alan Johnson to ask why the drug had not been classified as recommended by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs last year.

Mr Morrison was arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs by Sussex Police but no further action was taken against him in relation to Miss Stewart's death because the purchase and use of GBL is not unlawful.

Detective Inspector Carwyn Hughes said he believed Miss Stewart took the drug willingly but could not be drawn on whether she was fully aware of its effects.

The inquest also heard that the level of GBL found in her blood and urine were at the lower end of the scale and in some cases would not have ended in death.

Mr Hughes said: "In reality, Hester was very unlucky. With the level concerned, she may have survived but unfortunately she didn't."

Brighton and Hove Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley was told that the "tipping point" for Miss Stewart was the ingestion of GBL along with alcohol.

Miss Stewart's flatmate, Ellie Webber, said she was "not surprised" that she had taken GBL as she had used recreational drugs, including ecstasy, in the past.

And Miss Stewart's older brother, Chesney Stewart, said he was also aware of his sister using drugs previously.

He said: "On occasion she had smoked some cannabis and I know she had done ecstasy but that was spurred on by emotional distress from an ex-boyfriend.

"I'm led to believe that she had never taken ecstasy again... but I can't say that she has never taken drugs."

Mr Stewart added that his sister called him just before 3am on the day she died as she often phoned relatives to tell them she loved them.

But Mr Stewart, whose birthday took place two days beforehand, was perturbed by her state and said his sister "didn't seem her usual self" and "seemed strange".

Explaining the circumstances following the death, Coroner's officer Jane Ritchie said an ambulance arrived at the scene at 9.39am where Ms Stewart was found lying clothed on the bed.

No resuscitation attempts were made because of an absence of any heart activity and police later took over the investigation.